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[ Vol. 24, No. 2, 2017 ]

 

 

 

KEMANUSIAAN
The Asian Journal of Humanities

Published by
Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia


Past Issue - Volume 24, No. 2, 2017

  • Editorial
    (Rencana Pengarang)
    Hajar Abdul Rahim

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  • A Malaysia of Citizens: Ethnicity, Membership and Politics of Merger
    Low Choo Chin


    Abstract: This paper examines the political history of the relationship between Malaysia and Singapore, focusing on the notion of citizenship and its ethnic, civic and political dimensions. It analyses the extent to which the merger of Singapore with Malaysia redefined the citizenship boundaries of the Malaysian national political identity. The incorporation of Singaporean citizens into the Malaysian political community was controversial, as it was closely related to electoral stakes. The ruling People’s Action Party and the Alliance Party attempted to delineate the political sphere of the population of each political unit through the demarcation between ‘citizenship’ and ‘nationality’. However, the citizenship crisis continued to trouble the relationship of these states to the point that both parties breached the perceived agreement not to interfere with the other’s political sphere of influence. This sphere of influence was delineated on the basis of race, thus cutting across political territory rather than territorial attributes. The ideological clashes over the meaning of citizenship that arose during the political merger of Singapore and Malaya, show that a truly Malaysian citizenship could not be developed – only a Malaysia of citizens.

    Keywords and phrases: citizenship, ethnicity, political merger, extraterritorial electoral participation, Singapore
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  • Polemik Aliran Sosialis Marxisme dalam Gerakan Nasionalisme dan Pembangunan Politik Radikal Melayu, 1925–1948
    The Polemics of Socialist Marxism in the Malay Nationalist Movement and Radical Political Development, 1925–1948
    Ahamad Jama’ Amin Yang and Mohd Samsudin


    Abstrak: Sejarah gerakan politik aliran sosialis di Tanah Melayu sering digambarkan mempunyai persamaan dengan fahaman politik komunis. Kemelut pandangan ini secara tidak langsung memberi kesan terhadap kefahaman perkembangan dan perjuangan politik aliran sosialis di Tanah Melayu, terutama yang mengaitkan gerakan radikal nasionalisme dengan pembangunan politik Melayu di Tanah Melayu. Sehubungan itu, makalah ini menumpukan kepada perkembangan ideologi politik aliran sosialis melalui pengaruh Sosialis Marxisme dari Indonesia yang menjadi asas perkembangan aliran sosialis dalam kalangan gerakan aliran kiri nasionalis radikal Melayu dalam meneruskan keberlangsungan politik kelas sepanjang tahun 1925 sehingga tahun 1948. Dengan menggunakan pendekatan Reconstructionist sejarah dan interpretasi hermeunitik, analisis perbincangan dikembangkan berdasarkan penggunaan sumber primer sebagai asas hujah, terutama dokumen British, di samping sumber-sumber sekunder yang lain. Dapatan kajian mendapati pengaruh aliran sosialis berkembang dalam dua bentuk aliran, iaitu Sosialis Marxisme dan Reformis Marxisme melalui PKMM, API, AWAS, PETA dan BATAS. Dalam konteks Tanah Melayu, perkembangan aliran ini secara dasarnya dikerangkakan oleh sudut pandang Alimin dan Tan Malaka yang membentuk fahaman radikal dalam kalangan aktor-aktor politik Melayu dan membezakannya antara komunis Sosialis Marxisme dengan Reformis Marxisme. Makalah ini menterjemahkan satu sisi yang berbeza berdasarkan tafsiran sumber utama itu sendiri dan pendekatan politik moden dalam menjelaskan perkembangan aliran sosialis di Tanah Melayu.

    Kata kunci dan frasa: sejarah politik, Sosialis Marxisme, Reformis Marxisme, aliran kiri, radikal Melayu

    Abstract: The history of the socialist political movement in Malaya has always been identified as having similarities with the history of the communist political ideology. This misconception has influenced the general understanding of the socialist movement struggles and developments in Malaya, especially those related to the radical movements and the Malay political developments in Malaya. Hence, this article focuses on the development of the socialist political ideology as an influence of the Indonesian Socialist Marxism which became a basis for the socialist ideology development by the left-wing Malay radical nationalist movements in their class political survival from 1925 to 1948. Through the history of Reconstructionist and the hermeneutic interpretation approach, the analysis and discussion is developed based on the primary sources such as the British documents as well as the secondary sources to support the arguments. It is found that the socialist ideological influences developed in two forms, i.e. Socialist Marxism and Reformist Marxism through PKMM, API, AWAS, PETA and BATAS. In its Malayan context, this ideology developed as a result of the framework established by Alimin and Tan Malaka world view who formed a radical ideology among the Malay political actors which is different from the Reformist Marxism. This article highlights a different angle based on the interpretation of the primary sources itself and the modern political approach in describing the historical developments of the socialist ideology in Malaya.

    Keywords and phrases: political history, Socialist Marxism, Reformist Marxism, left-wing, Malay radical
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  • Unsur Kepercayaan dan Kearifan Tempatan dalam Memorat Perubatan Tradisional Etnik Murut Tahol di Sabah
    Elements of Local Beliefs and Wisdom in the Traditional Healing Memorates of the Tahol Murut of Sabah
    Normadiah Nassir, Low Kok On, Ismail Ibrahim and Supyan Hussin


    Abstrak: Memorat ialah sejenis legenda yang diwarisi secara lisan dan dipercayai benar dalam kalangan masyarakat pendukungnya. Ramai pengkaji Barat mahupun tempatan mendapati kisah legenda merakamkan pengetahuan orang terdahulu. Dalam kajian ini, seramai 26 orang informan daripada suku etnik Murut Tahol telah ditemu bual dalam kerja lapangan yang dikendalikan di beberapa buah kampung di daerah kecil Kemabong, Sabah. Siri temu bual ini telah menghasilkan sebanyak 25 buah memorat yang seterusnya dirakamkan, ditranskripsikan dan didokumentasikan. Kajian ini menggunakan kaedah temu bual secara individu dan temu bual secara kumpulan berfokus. Fokus perbincangan makalah ini ialah perkaitan antara kisah memorat dengan perubatan rohani dan fizikal dalam kalangan masyarakat etnik Murut Tahol. Unsur kepercayaan dan kearifan tempatan yang dikenal pasti dalam memorat etnik Murut Tahol turut dianalisis berdasarkan kaedah interpretasi dan perbandingan. Analisis mendapati bahawa etnik Murut Tahol percaya akan mimpi, pelbagai jenis semangat ghaib serta haiwan tertentu yang dianggap dapat membantu mereka mengubati penyakit rohani (seperti kerasukan dan gangguan semangat) dan penyakit fizikal (seperti luka, demam dan sakit perut). Unsur-unsur sedemikian ialah unsur sepunya yang dimiliki etnik peribumi Sabah dan Sarawak, orang Melayu dan bangsa lain di dunia ini. Daripada segi kearifan tempatan pula, etnik Murut Tahol didapati arif dalam mengenal pasti jenis dan ciri-ciri tumbuh-tumbuhan yang sesuai untuk dijadikan ubat. Selain itu, mereka juga mahir dalam menyediakan ubat-ubatan tradisional dan menggunakan sasampui (jampi) dalam mengubati pelbagai jenis penyakit fizikal dan rohani. Kesimpulannya, memorat didapati telah mempengaruhi amalan perubatan tradisional etnik Murut Tahol secara turun-temurun dan secara tidak langsung menonjolkan kearifan tempatan dan kepercayaan terhadap keberkesanan kaedah perubatan yang diwarisi oleh mereka.

    Kata kunci dan frasa: memorat, Murut Tahol, perubatan tradisional, kepercayaan, kearifan tempatan

    Abstract: A memorate is a type of legend passed on orally from one generation to another and perceived as truth or real by those who uphold such beliefs. Many Western and local researchers have found legends to be records of the knowledge of people in the past. In this study, 26 Tahol Murut informants were interviewed during field work conducted in several villages located in the Kemabong subdistrict of Sabah. These interviews generated a total of 25 memorates which were recorded, transcribed and documented. This research utilised the in-depth interview and focus group interview methods. The focus of this paper is the relationship between memorates and the physical and spiritual healings of the Tahol Murut ethnic community. The elements of local beliefs and wisdom found in the memorates were analysed based on interpretation and comparison methods. The analysis found that the Murut Tahol people believed in dreams, supernatural beings and certain animals that were perceived as able to assist in the healing of spiritual afflictions (such as spiritual possession and disturbances) and physical illness (such as injury, fever and stomach ache). Such beliefs are universal among the various ethnic groups in Sabah and Sarawak, the Malays and other races as well. In terms of local wisdom, this study found the Tahol Murut skilful at identifying the types and characteristics of plants that had medicinal value. They were also adept in the preparation of various types of traditional medicine and the use of ‘sasampui’ (a type of spell) in physical and spiritual healing. In conclusion, this study found memorates had significantly influenced the traditional healing practice of the Tahol Murut ethnic community throughout time and invariably reflect the local wisdom and belief in the efficacy of their inherited healing methods.

    Keywords and phrases: memorate, Tahol Murut, traditional medication, belief, local wisdoms
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  • A Cognitive-Semantic Study of the Spatial Preposition ( ﻓِﻲ) in the Quran
    Sardaraz Khan and Roslan Ali


    Abstract: The existing literature has examined the preposition fī ( ﻓِﻲ) in the Quran from lexical syntactic perspective in strict spatio-geometric sense, but its abundant use with abstract concepts, emotions and states needs an elaborate approach to investigate its complex semantic functions. Therefore, this paper has taken a corpus based approach to investigate the functional semantic complexity of the preposition fī in the Quran from a cognitive perspective. The conceptual metaphor perspective holds that the sensorimotor neural structures define the use of spatial preposition in both spatio-geometric positions and abstract states. The linguistic data reveals that the container image schema is at work both in the literal and metaphoric use of spatial preposition fī. However, the preposition fī carries its own distinct semantic argument in each context and sometimes overrides the symmetry of container image schema. This paper recommends a broader perspective for a comprehensive analysis of spatial preposition fī and suggests further studies on its functional semantic complexity in the Quran.

    Keywords and phrases: metaphor, conceptual metaphor, sensorimotor neural structure, experiential gestalt, spatial prepositions
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  • Hubungan Simbolisme dan Spiritualisme Dewa-Raja dalam Kesusasteraan Melayu Klasik
    Relation of Devarāja Symbolism and Spiritualism in Malay Classical Literature
    Puteh Noraihan A. Rahman and Zahir Ahmad


    Abstrak: Agama Hindu-Buddha yang berkembang dari abad ke-7 sehingga abad ke-14 Masihi di Nusantara memberi pengaruh yang besar terhadap dunia Melayu. Kemasukan pengaruh kebudayaan Hindu-Buddha mengubah nilai-nilai kebudayaan dan pandangan semesta orang Melayu di Nusantara yang sebelumnya mengamalkan animisme serta agama nenek moyang. Makalah ini menganalisis simbolisme dewa-raja yang dijadikan kultus dalam masyarakat di Asia Tenggara yang turut tercermin dalam karya kesusasteraan Melayu klasik. Pengumpulan data dibuat menggunakan sumber primer seperti Hikayat Banjar, Hikayat Parang Puting, Hikayat Sang Boma, Hikayat Panji Semirang dan Hikayat Malim Deman. Pemilihan sampel kajian ini adalah neutral kerana dipilih mengikut genre yang berbeza, iaitu sastera pra-Islam, anekdot, sastera sejarah dan sastera zaman transisi Hindu-Islam. Bahan kajian terbatas kepada lima teks sastera Melayu klasik. Hasil kajian memperlihatkan kepelbagaian cara kepengarangan digunakan bagi menonjolkan simbolisme dewa-raja dalam menyerlahkan kedaulatan raja-raja Melayu.

    Kata kunci dan frasa: dewa-raja, dewa, raja, hikayat, sastera klasik, Hindu-Buddha

    Abstract: Hinduism and Buddhism in the Nusantara between the 7th and 14th centuries had a significant influence on the Malay world. It changed the values and the worldview of the Malays who practised animism and ancestral religions. This study analyses the symbolism of devarāja (god-king) as manifest in the cult practised by the people in Southeast Asia and that has a significant influence on Malay literature. The data was collected from primary sources such as “Hikayat Banjar”, “Hikayat Parang Puting”, “Hikayat Sang Boma”, “Hikayat Panji Semirang” and “Hikayat Malim Deman”. The sample is considered neutral due to the different literary genres comprising pre-Islamic texts, anecdotes, history, and the literature produced during the religio-transitional period. The sample is limited to five texts. The result of this study will demonstrate the different styles of writing that used the symbolism of devarāja to emphasise the sovereignty of the Malay rulers.

    Keywords and phrases: devarāja, god, king, hikayat, classical text, Hindu-Buddha
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Research Note
  • It’s More Fun in the Philippines: Positive Affects and the Post-Colonial Condition
    Jeremy De Chavez


    Abstract: This research note outlines ideas and maps out the critical context of the author’s current research project entitled “It’s More Fun in the Philippines: Positive Affects and the Post-Colonial Condition.” It also engages with recent literature from the expanding field of critical happiness studies. This project, envisioned to be a book-length study, explores the enabling as well as the obstructive capacities of so-called positive affects in imagining and realising an affirmative and sustainable cultural and socio-political practice within conditions of postcoloniality. In the process, it bridges several disciplines – in particular, Postcolonial Studies, Affect Theory, Critical/Cultural Theory and Gender Studies – and also aims to analyse a variegated body of philosophy, literature and cinema.

    Keywords and phrases: Affect Theory, post-colonial, happiness, Philippines
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